If you were on X in December, you probably saw the following prefab script posted numerous times by folks claiming to be health-care professionals who had developed an Internet-inspired fixation with a Palestinian in Gaza: “My name is []. I am a medical doctor. I am calling for the immediate release of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya. He was abducted by the Israeli forces. I am calling for protection of hospitals and medical workers in Gaza. And an end to the genocide.”
As copy-and-paste campaigns go, this one got a fair amount of attention. The Iranians were thrilled, of course, and wanted everyone to know it.
Safiya had not, in fact, been abducted by anyone. He had been arrested by Israeli forces for allowing Hamas to operate in his hospital. Thus he was being investigated for complicity in an undeniable war crime, and the evidence wasn’t kind to the good doctor.
But it wasn’t just a Twitter trolling campaign: As our Christine Rosen has written, the American Association of Pediatrics had joined the call to drop all investigation into a man who was under suspicion of committing one of the medical profession’s great sins. The pediatric organization had taken sides in a war, in favor of those who had taken children hostage. The AAP wasn’t concerned about the health of Jewish children deliberately killed or abducted; it just wanted a Hamas-connected hospital official to be given immunity.
The AAP wasn’t alone; lots of organizations that pretend to care about human rights joined the chorus.
While we have come to expect such organizations to refuse to acknowledge the suffering of the Israeli side of the conflict, there appear to be actual medical professionals in Gaza who could use their support.
Mohammed Sakar, for example. Dr. Sakar works at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, and recently posted a highly interesting note on his Facebook page. He has since deleted it, but here is the Times of Israel’s translation of it in part:
“As head of the department, I exerted all efforts to reopen the hospital and I succeeded… in serving the wounded. I made sure that the hospital wards were used only for patients, and not for displaced persons… In this way, I managed to keep the hospital safe and avoid threats of closure.”
He then warned that he was “being openly threatened, even though I explained to those who came to my office that all the steps I took were to protect the hospital. God will not forgive you.”
He included a threatening note he received from the military wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad: “Dear one, you have crossed the line, take heed!”
The Times of Israel notes that that was Sakar’s last post on Facebook and that he has not appeared in the media since deleting it.
The main takeaway from Sakar’s post is that it serves as yet more proof that the terrorist organizations in Gaza are still using hospitals as cover. Posts in support of Sakar, apparently from other Gaza residents, could be found on X, but that’s about it so far. One such post reads: “Dr. Mohammed Sakar received threats from mercenaries belonging to Islamic Jihad because of his opposition to armed men inside the hospital. Every mercenary organization has thieves around it, and it wants to take the land into its own hands and play with people’s lives as it pleases.”
In February 2024, IDF soldiers operating at Nasser hospital discovered Hamas terrorists and weapons, as well as medicine that had been withheld from hostages. In January, when the cease-fire went into effect, Hamas forces were seen emerging from the Nasser complex armed and in uniform.
But there’s another angle to this: Where’s all the international support for Dr. Sakar? It sure sounds like he’s trying to keep terrorists out of the hospital. He seems to be in mortal danger from Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Medical organizations and NGOs around the world ought to be interested in getting to the bottom of this. I eagerly await their campaigns to do so.
